Getting Started with the Water Element

At the Heavenly River Legion's base, a bonfire crackled in the little courtyard of the Ice Blade Squad.

They had just finished dividing the spoils, and tonight was their victory feast.

At that moment, all five Sanctuaries stared fixedly at Fukaloss—or, more precisely, at the unremarkable little bottle in her hand.

It contained wine.

A tiny bottle of fruit wine.

In Gobada, where the elements were scarce and even survival was difficult, this was a luxury only the truly elite Godlevels in the Royal City could enjoy.

"Miss—" Gideon transformed into a big, goofy bear, eagerly craning his round head toward her. He was practically drooling.

Fukaloss smiled and took out five little cups. "All right, all right. I prepared this for you in the first place. Keep working hard, and there'll be plenty of rewards to come."

Barn watched as the viscous, pale golden liquid slowly filled his cup.

His nose twitched, and the long-missed aroma of wine wafted over him.

In his previous life, he hadn't been fond of alcohol. Back when he'd been in Yulan Continent, Barn had looked down on low-alcohol fruit wine like this. Yet now, as soon as a hint of its spicy sweetness touched his tongue, his eyes suddenly grew hot.

In this godforsaken place, getting to taste a sip of wine felt like a dream.

"Crunch, crunch—"

A strange chewing sound rang out.

Barn turned and saw Declan toss the entire cup of wine, cup and all, into his mouth. He chewed it to pieces and swallowed.

Gideon immediately protested. "Hey! That's such a waste!"

Declan retorted with complete conviction, "Wine evaporates so easily. If you just stare at it instead of drinking it, that's the real waste."

The others realized he was right and promptly tilted their heads back, pouring the wine into their mouths. They held it there for a long time, reluctant to swallow.

Blair hadn't touched the wine in front of him yet, and Declan immediately fixed his eyes on it. "You're a Beholder. You can't drink wine, so let me take care of it for you."

"Get lost."

Blair tipped his head back and slowly poured the whole cup of wine over his single vertical pupil, as if it were eye drops.

"Pfft—hahaha..." Fukaloss burst out laughing.

Even Julia, the usually reserved dragonkin, looked reluctant to part with the wine. "Miss, this wine must be very expensive, right?"

"Once we're all Godlevels, I'll take you into the Royal City and give each of you a bottle!" Fukaloss declared with a grand wave of her hand.

"Long live Miss!"

"All right, let's eat the roast meat!"

The cheerful victory feast didn't last long.

As Fukaloss ate beside the bonfire, her aura suddenly shifted. Water-type Divine Power began quietly circulating around her.

She'd entered a state of sudden enlightenment.

The five of them instantly withdrew their auras and obediently returned to their rooms.

Fortunately, the courtyard was small. The Divine Power that spilled from Fukaloss as she entered her state of sudden enlightenment was enough to sustain their bodies, so they didn't even need food.

Barn continued watching Fukaloss meditating in the courtyard and quietly asked Blair beside him, "Blair, is Miss a Beholder too?"

Blair nodded slightly, his voice calm. "You should have seen Miss display her talent during your earlier battle, right?"

They all nodded.

That golden eye, capable of unleashing a terrifying Soul Freeze, had left a deep impression on them.

"Actually, there's no need to hide it." Blair spoke slowly. "Miss is the king of our Beholder race—the Evil Eye King."

"Our Beholders mainly live in Hell. Males awaken the death attribute and have the innate talent Wither Light; females have the Water Element attribute and the innate talent Soul Freeze. I'm a female Beholder."

"The Evil Eye King is an extremely rare mutant, one in ten thousand. She controls both death and Water Element affinities and possesses both Wither Light and Soul Freeze. Her powers are dozens of times stronger than those of ordinary Beholders!"

Barn gazed at Fukaloss in the courtyard, his mind shaken.

He hadn't expected her to be the Evil Eye King. This powerful creature, which had appeared in the original story, had innate abilities on par with those of ordinary divine beasts. In the original story, even Linley had been helpless against one in the Necropolis of the Gods.

At that moment, gentle, water-blue Divine Power swirled around Fukaloss. She had clearly made a new breakthrough in the Water Law.

Barn also primarily cultivated the Water Element.

The two of them had shared their insights before. He had even chosen a few worldly philosophies from his previous life and paraphrased them for her.

There was no need to hoard insights on the path of the Coiling Dragon's Laws. Sharing ideas often made it easier to draw connections and gain new understanding.

Fukaloss had held nothing back either. She had become a God by fusing the Water Element and Ice Profound Mystery, which was extremely rare among Lowgods. She had explained her experience fusing the Water Element and Ice Profound Mystery to become a God in detail.

The Ice Profound Mystery was the only one of the six Water Profound Mysteries that directly enhanced physical attacks, and it was a High-level Profound Mystery.

Barn had tried countless times, but he had never managed to cross the threshold.

Yet now, as he quietly watched Fukaloss's enlightened expression and felt the ripples of her Divine Power flowing like water and ice, smoothly circling around one another, his mind shook with a sudden boom.

A flicker of understanding quietly took root.

"Barn's gained some insight too?"

"Look at the fluctuations in the water elements... He really has entered a state of sudden enlightenment."

The other four exchanged glances, then silently moved away so they wouldn't disturb his opportunity.

When Barn opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was Declan's dark golden pupils, just inches away.

He steadied himself and asked, "How long was I in a state of sudden enlightenment?"

"Five years," Declan replied coolly.

"That long?"

Fukaloss's amused voice came from beside him. "It was a while. I woke up a year before you."

Barn looked at her and sincerely said, "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Miss."

"Congratulations to you too." Fukaloss nodded. "My breakthrough this time was thanks in large part to our earlier discussion of the Round Soft Profound Mystery, along with the practical experience from our last battle. I've finally mastered it completely."

Barn sighed softly. "I only managed to firmly grasp the Water Element. It's a shame. I thought I might at least get a feel for the Ice Profound Mystery."

"The Ice Profound Mystery is the Water Element's strongest offensive Profound Mystery. It's not that easy." Fukaloss smiled. "But it's already extremely rare for you to have gotten started with all three Water Profound Mysteries while still at the Sanctuary level."

"I have you to thank for that, Miss." Barn's eyes lit up. "Next, I want to try fusing Profound Mysteries!"

"That's the right path." Fukaloss approved. "The bottleneck for fusing Profound Mysteries is indeed a little higher than the one for mastering a single Profound Mystery, but once you become a God, your path ahead will be much broader."

"I'll work hard!" Barn suddenly changed his tune and rubbed his hands together. "So, Miss, is there any reward?"

Fukaloss immediately smacked him on the head.

"Is grasping the Water Element not reward enough? Get up and get to work—we've got a new mission!"